BreweryPro

This week, on Brewer's Perspective, Marcus and Anthony discuss how to ensure that good beer from the brewery gets into packaging in the same quality and stays that way into the marketplace.

Our guest is Simon Lew, Packaging and Production Manager at 4 Pines Brewing Co.

Prior to joining 4 Pines, Simon worked for 3 Ravens Brewery, Tooborac Hotel and Brewery and Thunder Road Brewing.

Meanwhile, at 4 Pines, he’s worked through various supply roles. From brewing to logistics, to running the packaging line for three years, Simon now looks after all new products and technologies for the company.

In this discussion, Simon explains the best practices breweries need for their packaging lines to ensure beer is in the best possible condition, from production through to consumption. We also delve into the topic of pasteurization and how necessary it is for breweries seeking broader distribution.

If you’d like to ask questions of Anthony or Marcus, suggest topics for future episodes, or provide feedback you can join our RBN Brewery Pro Facebook group or email [email protected].

Welcome to this BreweryPro podcast looking at quality assurance in hop production, part of Hop Product Australia’s 2021 Virtual Harvest program.

In this episode, HPAs Simon Whittock gives a presentation on HPA's latest sustainability initiatives. He discusses how HPA considers the economic, environmental and social impact of every decision, and are taking shared responsibility for a better world by setting meaningful sustainability targets.

Stay tuned for a special Q and A with Richard Adamson, Non-executive Director at Young Henrys Brewery. Richard is a champion of sustainability. He started with a homebrew kit over 20 years ago, and now his beers are enjoyed in bars and backyards around the world. He'll be answering questions about his latest sustainability initiative - the Algae Project. If you'd like to skip straight to the Q and A, jump ahead to 12:50, or to just skip to the next chapter in your app.

At 12:46 hear a Q and A with Richard Adamson, Non-executive Director at Young Henrys Brewery. Richard is a champion of sustainability. He started with a homebrew kit over 20 years ago, and now his beers are drunk in bars and backyards around the world. He'll be answering questions about his latest sustainability initiative - the Algae Project.

In this first episode of Brewer's Perspective co-host Anthony Clem chose today’s guest, Aron McGarrity, Senior Account Manager, Food & Beverage, with Ecolab.

Anthony wanted to speak to Aron about what he has learned in his many visits to breweries about what brewers can to in the brewhouse to make the job of cleaning and sanitation easier. As you’ll hear, this isn’t an ad for cleaning chemicals, most of the discussion is about layout and design, equipment and processes that can actually reduce the need to use chemicals.

Anthony is joined by co-host Marcus Cox.

If you’d like to ask questions of Anthony or Marcus, suggest topics for future episodes, or provide feedback you can join our RBN Brewery Pro Facebook group or email [email protected].

Welcome to the first episode of a new podcast, Brewer's Perspective.

Brews News created the first Australian beer podcast way back in 2011. As Brews News has evolved we discuss the news of the week and also the backgrounds of industry people, probing their experiences in the industry. If you haven’t heard it, you may well be interested in the industry news and insights those shows contain.

Very regularly we get asked to tackle topics that are quite niche and quite technical. The topics are often ones that we would really like to explore, but may be a little off topic of Radio Brews News

That’s one of the reasons we created the BreweryPro channel as the home for content that has higher value but for a more limited audience for our general listener.

Next week the first episode is titled, There’s No Five Second Rule In Brewing, and looks at brewing cleanliness and sanitation. It features Aron McGarrity from Ecolab, but as you’ll hear when it drops, it not looking specifically at chemicals but how brewery design and planning, and systems can make sure your beer is the best it can be.

But before we do that, we wanted to introduce our hosts to give you a little background on the people who will be anchoring the discussions, Anthony Clem and Marcus Cox.

Anthony Clem has been a guest on Beer is a Conversation more than once. During his time with Lion discussing XXXX Pale Ale and also during his time as Head Brewer at Hemingways in Cairns. More recently he worked was a Member of the Quality Committee for the IBA and the judging panel of the RNA, recently started a business as a Brewing Consultant with the intent to give brewery owners the capability and insight to live their dreams of building a craft brewery creating consistently great quality craft beer.

Marcus Cox Hired by Newstead Brewing Co in January 2021 to add some fundamental quality structures, quickly becoming Head Brewer in March. He was the first Australian to judge at European Beer Star awards in Munich, 14 year IBD member and MBAA District Pittsburgh re-founder, former VP and current Past President.

You can join the discussion in the new Facebook group.

Welcome to this Brewery Pro podcast. This is part of Hop Product Australia's 2021 Virtual Harvest program.

Today HPAs Owen Johnston chats with Quality Manager Peter Hamilton and Lab Co-ordinator George Webster on the topic of Quality Assurance, covering what the certifications mean, and the steps taken to guarantee quality in the final package.

At 21.46 hear a special Q and A with Nathan Calman - Brewery Manager at James Boag Brewery.

A full transcript of this conversation is available here.

In this BreweryPro podcast we look at data from the packaging line. We speak with James Magee, CEO of manufacturing software company OFS about a report the company released recently, the Craft Brewers Benchmark study that found that craft brewers can only run their packaging line for 12 minutes before it stops.

It also found that most craft brewers spend 46% of their time on the packaging line doing things other than filling cans and bottles of beer.

We wanted to find out more about the data, where it come from and how ofs says it can help measure and reduce inefficiency.

If you want to find out more about how the software is used in-brewery, you can register for the upcoming webinar featuring Greg Stones, Supply Chain Manager of Tribe Breweries, designed for brewers who want to know what a good day on their packaging line looks like and – most importantly – how they can sustainably and repeatedly improve their bottom line.

This podcast is part of Hop Product Australia's 2021 Virtual Harvest program. Today you'll hear from Simon Whittock, who has been in charge of HPAs breeding program since 2007. He shares his thoughts on how hop growers and brewers can work to maximise fruity flavours and aromas in beer by better understanding several key classes of hop compounds and how they behave through the brewing process. Stay tuned for a special Q and A with Tim Matthews Vice-President of Global Brewing at Canarchy. He is focused on improving everything from product innovation to sourcing ingredients and improving the connection between brewers and growers. Q & A begins at 8:25.

Hop Products Australia has completed its 2021 hop harvest. HPA picked 675 hectares totalling1,526 metric tonnes of hops.

They saw an increase in acreage harvested, but a decrease in yield and saw a significant increase in tonnage in Galaxy, Vic Secret and newcomer Eclipse, but a decline in Ella that will see issues around contracted volumes. This year was also notable for the end of classic alpha hop, Super Pride.

We discuss all of this and more in this BreweryPro podcast.

Welcome to this BreweryPro episode looking at hop harvest and selection.

As southern hemisphere hop growers reach the midpoint of their hop harvest, discussion often turns to hop selection. 

Brewers who have been fortunate to visit US farms are often invited to participate in selection, choosing the lots that they want to purchase. In Australia Hop Products Australia goes a different way, aiming for consistent quality through blending, even though the company itself participates in selection in the US.

BreweryPro wanted to better understand the Australian approach and the reasons for it and so we caught up with HPA’s Sales & Marketing Manager Owen Johnston to understand why the company sees the local market as being different and also learn the business dynamics and agronomics that are unique to their Australian operations that shapes its approach to hop sales.

Brews News ran a story last week detailing the concerning results of a pilot study by Queensland Health. The study saw an analysis of the abv of 25 craft beers and compared the results to the ABV declared on the label. 

Eighty per cent of the samples fell outside the allowable variation.

We understand anecdotally that these results have been replicated more widely in informal testing by other bodies.

Following that story, BIRA - Brewing Interlaboratory Reference Analytes - and is the brewing industry’s not-for-profit testing scheme - issued a statement noting that as food and beverage manufacturers, compliance with labelling standards is critical, especially in such a sensitive area as ABV labelling where there are real consumer safety issues at stake. 

The group encouraged brewers to participate in the scheme that works to improve the accuracy and reproducibility of analytical beer testing.

We heard from a number of BIRA members and others with a keen interest in market quality of beer wanting to discuss the issue and what follows is the recording of that panel discussion.

In addition to explaining the work of BIRA, this conversation covers a wide range of issues around beer quality testing and its importance.